Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	law_n	sin_n	sin_v	3,553	5	9.3146	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15346	The summe of a sermon, preached at Sowthell the thirtith of March. 1596. By T.W.	T. W. (Thomas Wilcox), 1549?-1608.	1597 (1597)	STC 25630; ESTC S111705	37,554	76

the attainment of knowledge because then they are and shall bee a degree nearer to grace comfort than before which hauing once obtained and harty prayer made vnto God for the sanctified vse continuance and increase therof in thē they shall no doubt in good time come to feeling but till then let them neuer thinke of it for all their thoughtes that way shall bee but lost labour because not knowing they cānot beleeue for how can any man be perswaded of the thinges he knoweth not And for the other I would in the feare of God counsell them neuer to thinke of sinne alone or of condemnation by it self or of their owne vnworthinesse apart for then certainely they cānot choose but be much discomforted greatly cast down but to ioyn alwayes therwith the remedies that God hath prouided giuen them there against as opposing against sinne Christs suffrings and the merits thereof which being strong to take away the cause cannot but vtterly remooue the effect that is condemnation and to oppose against their owne vnworthinesse the worthines of him that hath deserued all in all not for himselfe for he needed no merites as neuer hauing offended but for vs that in his righteousnes wee might stand pure and cleane in the sight of God And then no doubt but if we doe this these temptations shall be the more easie and the sooner ouercome specially if we adioyne therewith all praier for the increase strengthening of our faith to apply vnto our selues all the sweete promises and comfortable examples of the word which indeed be not only as manie sure seales and pledges set thereunto but so many particular documentes to instruct vs what to doe because God is not in this sort or sense a general God to all but a particular God to the faithful a special God to euery one of them as may appeare by these words of the faithfull I thanke my God and in prayer My God my God c. And yet this applying of him vnto our selues doth not straighten Gods goodnes in it selfe for that is infinitely large nor hinder it from others for he may and doeth giue to all aboundantly and yet all they haue to the full and he himselfe neuer a whit the lesse therfore A second doctrine that we may learne from hence is this that the estate of a distressed and an afflicted spirite is not so hard or heauy so dangerous deadly or desperate as many men in the world take it and would make it to bee This is gathered from hence yea and confirmed also by this that he doth heer so comfortablie call vpon them and commaund them to come vnto him which if they had been past hope he would not haue done for our Sauiour hath not done or said any thing in vaine Surely nothing was hidden from him hee knew their estate and accordingly framed himselfe thereto And indeede to say true it had been to no purpose because being past hope it shuld haue been in vain either to haue called or commanded But Christ sheweth rather the quite and cleane contrarie namely that it is good and comfortable as we may perceiue by this that our Sauiour Christ so tenderly regardeth them that be plunged into that misery And this we may vnderstand also by many reasons as well as by that before alleaged All things in the world and therefore this must of necessity come from God or from nature That which is from God is as himself good yea very good that which is from nature is as nature vitiated and corrupted But this indeed is no naturall thing as may appeare by this that nature in the corruptiō of it rather sootheth men in sin than any maner of way chargeth them withall yea nature is so farre from working it that it rather shunneth it and flyeth from it as a most grieuous euill And besides if it were naturall and from man why should not all be exercised with it seeing all men are meerlie naturall and haue alike sinned as in regard of the taint of original sin and though it may be that actually all men haue not sinned alike yet sith euery man in his measure or maner hath broken the law of God if it were from nature it would follow thereupon that euery man eyther more or lesse shuld be touched therwithall because euery man hath more or lesse sinned It being therefore from God as may appeare by this also that he hath ordayned many meanes and amongst the rest the execution of iudgmēts and the denouncing of the same by the ministery of the law and his vsing of the same as a worthy instrumēt to bring men ther unto it will follow thereupon that it cannot be but good because nothing commeth from him who is all soueraigne goodnes in himselfe but that which is good euen as he himselfe is And if it be good as it must needs bee cōming from him then it is not euill or so dangerous deadlie and desperate as many men make it Besides let vs but a little regard the persons who are most touched therwith we shal see that they be the dearest neerest vnto God are best beloued of him Amongst the Fathers vnder the law were any more excellent than Abraham than Moses than Dauid than Isaiah Of Abraham it is recorded that hee was the Father of the faithful the friend of God Of Moses it is affirmed that hee was the faithfullest in the house of God as a seruant Of Dauid that hee was a man euen according to the heart of God And yet howe much were euerie one of these humbled Let Dauid stand vs in steed of al. How many not only here and there sentences or verses thorowout his booke of Psalmes but whole Psalmes of this subiect and matter plainly shew him to haue bin far throwne down and hūbled To reckon them all would require much time and therefore to rehearse them in whole or in part much more but let him that doubteth of the trueth of this read Psal 6.13.38.77.102 130. and if by them he will not bee perswaded that Dauid was touched to the quick this way no thing I suppose will cause him to beleeue it Vnder the Gospell we haue our sauiour Christ himself the principall preacher or minister therof a plaine patterne of this point His whole life was lead vnder this estate yea and as wee may say laide downe in it also as it is at long and at large described vnto vs by the Euangelists And this argument also I meane concerning the humiliation of our Sauiour euery way the Apostle in his Epistle to the Hebrewes doth not onely handle in the sixe or seuen first chapters of that his epistle but teacheth Gods people to make speciall vse thereof for instruction and comfort And if anie will imagine that he was so throwne downe because hee was best yea onely able to raise vp himselfe and others also let vs turne our eyes from him vnto others and